The Importance of Being Earnest An Introduction

Victorian Period (1837-1901) Victorian society structured by class Lower class only recognized only for their ability to provide service to middle and upper classes Wealthy did not usually work their estates but had bailiffs or managers to do so First born sons of the wealthy were well-off because they received the wealth of the family Second and subsequent sons had to enter the military or clergy Marrying was a young lady’s goal Our Royal Highness

Tea Time Daily routine in English life Everything stopped for tea time Tea served with delicate sandwiches and sweets Tea Time often became more elaborate when guests were invited

Victorian Education Education was much more limited Middle class boys attended grammar school and university if they received a grant Middle class girls received limited education at home and village churches

Upper Class Ladies Learned under the guidance of a governess Learned the feminine arts of sewing and embroidery and music training Learned French

Upper Class Gents Acquired live-in tutor after infancy At seven, boys were sent to “public” school After public school, boys went to university University required: Attendance of lectures Private lessons with a tutor Rigorous reading and writing Yearly comprehensive exams If a young man got into trouble, he was sent home in disgrace

Oscar Wilde Novelist, Poet and Dramatist Born on October 16, 1854 as Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde Attended Trinity College and Magdalen College where he won the Newdigate Prize for one of his poems Married Constance Lloyd at the age of 30 and had two sons

The Importance of Being Earnest Literary Oscar Wilde The Importance of Being Earnest Complete Fairy Tales Began publishing in 1881 and wrote throughout his life Known for his ability to produce lively, colorful conversation and witty remarks Believed in “art for art’s sake” Very eccentric Most popular work was and is The Importance of Being Earnest

Wilde reacted against these ideas in Victorian society: Industrialism Hypocrisy/complacency/artificiality The Romantic view of Nature he saw it as crude, unshaped The People He believed the Artist was to be isolated and perhaps persecuted for his genius The aristocracy and affluent middle class Melodrama Where characters may be seen as talking “directly from life”

Influences The “well-made play” Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors The mechanism of the play depends on a ‘time bomb’ from the past Use of coincidence, and question and answer to provide background Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors Features separated siblings

Literary devices used in the play Epigram - a terse, witty statement (one-liner) Epigrams are often paradoxical in nature “I can resist everything except temptation” - Oscar Wilde Symbol - something that, although it is of interest in its own right, stand for or suggests something larger and more complex The American Flag A road symbolizes the walk of life